PlayStation 3 delay meme, part V: SCEJ and AFP

It's kind of becoming this sick fascination, a gadgety train wreck, if you will, constantly wondering about the status of the PlayStation 3, and whether it'll launch in any reasonable time frame to compete with the Xbox 360 in ours, the US market. Well, according to a Sony Computer Entertainment Japan spokesman who spoke to Kyodo News, the PlayStation 3 could be delayed until fall due to a "failure to set the specifications of the Blue-ray [sp] DVD technology," by the end of 2005, as reported by the AFP. We're not sure whether this refers to the AACS delays we saw last week, but if so they've really got nothing to worry about since the AACS forum all but announced an interim plan so as not to delay anyone's launches. And if not, well, it's their format and their own damn fault -- either way, according to Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain Inc. in Japan, had an interesting thing to say: "Sony has not begun taking orders early this month, that means that it would be difficult for the company to begin sales in May." Well, there you go, then.

[KATastrophe @ Feb 25th 2006 12:54PM]

AMAZING BLOG!
Adding you to my blogroll right now.

later,
kat

[E71 @ Feb 25th 2006 12:55PM]

I for one will happily wait until it's launched.

Not going anywhere near the X-Loss 360.

[Andrew Stone @ Feb 25th 2006 12:58PM]

At this rate the third generation xbox and the third generation playstation might be released at the same time...

[Steven @ Feb 25th 2006 1:14PM]

Delays = good
rushed = BAD
the more delasy the more chance they have to put into making the system more stable and not as many problems like the ps2 did.

[Chris McDowell @ Feb 25th 2006 1:28PM]

Future post for 2008....Xbox720 is way better than ps3 I dunno why anyone would wanna buy something designed in 2005 and launched in 2008 jeez Has'nt sony been working on this thing for years and was originally supposed to go up against xbox 360. I can't believe fanboys still think the ps3' cell chip is going to beat the 720's hyperinteractive super scaleable flux capactor processor. This ps3 thing may have been cool if they launched it when it was planned to.

[Jamesology @ Feb 25th 2006 1:30PM]

OOOOooooooh I can't wait for the PS3. I'm still having soo much fun with the PS2. Imagine the the fun with the PS3, imagine the new Metal Gears. Too bad the controller looks like they just grabbed a piece of caly and rolled it just to get it out of the check list of things to do. I wish they change it.

I got the 360 and don't like it but it seems to have the best controller so far. The Revolution controller looks cool and awsome but in the long run it may get annoying with the two pieces. It's gonna be hard to eat and play.

[Darren Tilley @ Feb 25th 2006 1:45PM]

Ok, I'm pretty sick of all this crappy speculation, so I'm going go against everything I believe and join in.

I'm going to go on record stating that I believe that the PS3 will launch in the US before Christmas, and that it will cost about the same as the Xbox360 premium, if not cheaper.

I don't have a whole bunch of insider information to back that up, though I do work for a Sony published video game studio. I also have common sense.

At this stage, Sony is just doing the Nintendo/Apple thing. They want all this anticipation/specualation, it's free publicity for them. And it works very well in the US market. Microsoft jumped the gun with their announcements to the point where they became white noise, and their launch has suffered.

The moment Sony drops an official announcement, the entire internet will stop in its tracks. Brand awareness is absolute key in this industry. This speculative publicity is just as valuable to them as fanboyism.

[Eli @ Feb 25th 2006 2:09PM]

Personally, I'm not all that speculative, and I don't really care. All the PS3 does is play games - the Xbox (original at least) could be hacked to do all kinds of awesome stuff, including running Linux.

Why the hell would I pay like $400+ for a console that just plays games? My computer can already do that, and it has the best interface ever imagined by man (mouse+keyboard).

[slow news day @ Feb 25th 2006 2:16PM]

I don't mind delays, especially if it improves the quality of the product or keep costs down. What I do mind, however is Sony's earlier stance this week that it will be introduced on time.

They need to make up their minds. Spring release or Fall release.

[pete @ Feb 25th 2006 2:41PM]

Eli, I totally agree with you. Add to the fact that the PS3 is supposately (rumored) only to look a little bit better than the xbox makes it a big disappointment. There better be a big difference in gameplay and graphics for this kind of delay.

Plus, the 1st gen PSX hardware always seem to fail on me after 2-3 years.

[NeoWolf @ Feb 25th 2006 2:41PM]

"Personally, I'm not all that speculative, and I don't really care. All the PS3 does is play games - the Xbox (original at least) could be hacked to do all kinds of awesome stuff, including running Linux."

You seem to be forgetting all the other announcements about the PS3. It's supposed to have some kind of official Linux for it, it's got media input out the wazoo, so it is likely to be at least on par with the 360 for media functionality if not more. (It'll have Blu-ray after all, though truth be told I think both next gen video formats are doomed to obscurity!)

Both Sony and MS are clearly moving in a "not just games" direction. Only time will tell to see how that fares though!

[veto @ Feb 25th 2006 3:17PM]

Normally a buyer of Every games machine released, i myself am not purchasing a PS3 this time around , the differance between it and the 360 is not noticable enough for me to warrent the pricetag,all its extra features are nothing but a sales brochure for sony (and we all know how great they have been doing lately) and Microsft have went at developers hard this time round with a wealth of exclusive AAA titles headed its way.
Nintendo on the other hand , well they will always be close to my heart ,and the revolution will be such good value for money aswell as breaking down the gameplay barriers we have in this current age, you'd be a fool not to buy it.
Sony's just digging themselves a deep hole with me , the hype they are throwing out is killing them , i still have the PS2 and all the promises that failed to deliver in the back of my mind, not this time round for me anyway.

[BlastYoBoots @ Feb 25th 2006 3:33PM]

The X360 release was kind of shoddy: They had very few units, and they neglected to check for bugs or, I don't know, if they had FANS or not. They could have waited you know, done a nice release with working systems, and tons of them too. Why not? Just because they wanted to get there first. They wanted to get there so early that the PS3's release would seem years late in comparison. And it's working, tricking people like you all into seeing Microsuck as ahead of the game when in reality, they're just gypping their own customers.

[anonymous coward @ Feb 25th 2006 3:39PM]

"Why the hell would I pay like $400+ for a console that just plays games? My computer can already do that,.."

Because that $400 buys you a system with a guaranteed stream of playable games (read that as: "with a playable framerate") without further hardware investment for at least 4 years, which is a bargain by most people's standards.

Good for you if you've got the cash to upgrade your PC incessantly, but hey, you asked why someone would pay $400, and now you have your answer.

".... and it has the best interface ever imagined by man (mouse+keyboard)."

Nintendo would beg to differ, apparently.


Oh, and I've noticed the word "meme" seems to be getting an awful lot of mileage these days. Just sayin'.......

[Brandon Halsne @ Feb 25th 2006 3:42PM]

i personally think that the whole blu-ray - hd-dvd thing in a gaming console is ridiculous, even with current dvd media load times on some games are very long(worse on the ps2 than xbox-xbox360) what are theese load times gonna turn into when you ad a 50 gig disc of game to it imagine waiting to load 2 or 3 gigs of maps or characters, the quality would be amazing but do you really want to wait 15 min for a level to load? i think sony should do what the xbox360 did don't use the hd media for games, i would much rather have to switch out a disc if necessayr every hour then wait an extremely long time each level, drop the blu-ray and release it is that simple

[Alan Erickson @ Feb 25th 2006 4:01PM]

The bigger question to me seems to be whether you will actually be able to walk into a store and purchase a xbox 360 by the time the PS3 comes out.

[J Stewart @ Feb 25th 2006 4:34PM]

#16-uhhhh, yeah...about a month ago I walked into Best Buy and picked up a 360 Premium (my second), and the next day went to Wal Mart where they had FOUR. Are they really that hard to get still?

[Chris McDowell @ Feb 25th 2006 4:52PM]

Where I live the pickings are still pretty slim although I got some fluke chance and picked mine up at a Fry's at about 1 in the afternoon that for some reason no one knew was there. They are starting to be something you can just pick up though but not quite. A Best Buy I work at got 6 this week which were all gone that day. Bay Area...

[Cherrymlinh @ Feb 25th 2006 4:57PM]

is this an official statement...cause there has been ALOT of speculations these days about PS3, and honestly.it's getting quiet annoying. god know there might be a rumor that PS3 might not come out till 2010, personally..i dont' care..i'm a PS fan and i am willing to wait a couple more months for it to come out..

[jon @ Feb 25th 2006 5:02PM]

I'm guessing that in reality PS3 games will continue to be on normal DVD format. Developers are no where near filling a normal DVD disc yet to warrant the extra cost of BluRay media.

There will be 0 games functioning in 1080p as neither developers or consumers are interested. Yes the PS3 will support 1080p for BluRay playback and maybe even games...but not a single game will come out in 1080p for years to come. And no one will care cause all of 4 people out there even have 1080p TV sets.

PS3 will probably have one "multi-port" in the back for all video adapters except for the single HDMI output. (Remember it's a Blu-Ray player)Can't imagine why they would be foolish enough to include a second HDMI output when there would be absolutely no use for it.

I think they will completely ditch their dual display idea all together. Which would be a smart way to save cost...just think PC's have had Dual display capabilites for years...and I don't know of a single PC game that uses dual monitors. Dual monitors are good for office work, not for gaming.

They probably won't fix their controller layout (swapping the D-pad with the stick on the right hand side like the Xbox and 360 have) This puts their controller especially at odds with FPS games.

There will be support for only 4 controllers...yet again why the crap would you need more. Even 4 player games have been scarce for many years. Not to mention why would a company that only includes 2 ports in their current gen system think we would believe they would support 8 controllers in the next gen. That's just rediculous.

If they release in 2006 in the US, which I don't think they will, I doubt that they will have an online service in place and ready to go. Which I really don't think will matter for a while. Sony fanboys have somehow gotten by without online play all these years...why not a few more.

At this years E3 we will finally get to see the real PS3...hopefully. I don't think they will have much playable. A few games will be announced for launch and just like the 360 the best of these will be delayed beyond launch. The weight of real 360 titles will steal the air out of the hype of supposed upcoming titles for PS3...and of course Nintendo's console is bound to eclipse what little gas the hype machine has left.

[G @ Feb 25th 2006 5:22PM]

The XBox 360 is incredibly easy to pickup now... At least in my neck of the woods (Central WI), my good 'ol Wal*Mart has them in stock for a few days every week or two. They had the premium and the core in stock a few days back, and it's been that way since they opened in January... Not sure about the other stores in the area, but I bet that they all have or get regular shipments of 360s... If I didn't just upgrade my system to an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, I'd consider picking up the premium one for $399.

[Homer @ Feb 25th 2006 5:37PM]

Oh my god people the ps3 is going to be like a psp but like 5 times faster. Come on internet,games,music, photos and the Sony HUB. You Xbox 360 fanboys learn to read before you buy. For Christmas I got a Ipod video instead of a Xbox 360. I rather stick with sony 'till the end.

[REP @ Feb 25th 2006 5:43PM]

Too bad Sony...you guys totally suck!!!!!! You lost my hope and business. With any luck your company with PS3 in hand will go down in flames. Others will surely see through your shenanigans and will wake up and smell the coffee. Adios dumbasses!!!

[2kings @ Feb 25th 2006 6:08PM]

i trust sony will put out an amazing console. there are so many haters and the thing is not out

people need to love video games for video games again
there too much hate :(

[justagamer @ Feb 25th 2006 7:11PM]

You know, this type of back and fourth over the PS3 or Xbox 360 being better is out of control.

First thing, based on the word of the experts, the only advantage that PS3 has right now from people who have had hands on is that it can draw more of the same things on the screen at one time. Not better graphics, just more of them, and that's apparently not a major difference because of memory bottlenecks. This is not something that I'm speculating, this is a post on kikizo from people who have touched the "final" dev kits.

Next, how many of you stuck by your PS2 when the Xbox was clearly a superior system? A lot...why? I would say it's because the PS2 had the games that you liked and you were happy with it. You knew that there was a more powerful, flat-out, better system on the market and you stood by the one that you enjoyed. Why can't someone do the same with an Xbox? Why do you feel the need to bash someone who made the same decision that you did over the past couple of years? I, for one, have owned an Xbox since launch day and an Xbox 360 since launch as well. I read all of the specs and speculation over the two systems and I've never been a fan of Sony so it would have taken a huge leap ahead for me to convert. Nothing so far has proven that they will be able to pull that leap off.

As for the features that they're pushing:

1080p- I don't care, my TV only does 1080i and I'm not buying a new one.

Blu-Ray- I don't care, until a standard becomes standard, I don't want it.

Dual-HD out- I don't care, I barely got the one HD TV, why the hell would I buy another for a video game?

7 controllers at once- I don't care. If I have that many people over playing games, one of them can bring another system and we can use my LAN. 4 is a crowd to me (screen size is not the issue, I've got a 51")

Rival online service- I don�t care, I�ve already got Live and it does everything that I want. Again, it would take a huge leap for me to convert.

Works with PSP- Whoop di doo, I�m not going to buy a PSP to see if this works. I had a PSP for 1 day. I expected a long line for the 360 so I bought one the night before. I only waited in line for 4 hours and I returned it after I got my 360.

There are more, but, I�m sure that you get the point by now. Some of us don�t care that the PS3 will have a couple of things that the 360 does not. If there is something that simply trounces the 360, then maybe I�ll reconsider, but, until then, I hope that the PS3 has some killer games because that will just push MS to drive developers for better games to compete.

[Steven @ Feb 25th 2006 7:27PM]

well to the one that says that devlopers never use a full dvd is quite wrong there are NUMEROUS games that do. plus if you remeber GTA: SA i believe they had to put that on a dvd Dl and Star Ocean 3 was two dvds. plus I know heaps of over games are Dl dvds as well.. and most games that are releases are shrinked to fit on dvd-5s (aka single layer) even if they are dvd-9 (dl)

[Jamesology @ Feb 25th 2006 8:19PM]

Why buy a $400+ system that plays games. Well, why do ppl buy cars $15,000+ when a brand new Hyundai or Kia could be bought for around 13,000. All they do is bring you from A to B. Why buy a house when cheap apartments do exact the same thing, put a roof on your head. Why do you bother going on this website and you can just head outside of your house and talk to ppl.

It's such a stupid question to ask "Why?" There are a lot of things we do in life and still dunt know why we do them. All I know is PS3 will carry games other systems don't. Also to buy a computer that plays good games would cost me $2,000+. Videocards don't come cheap by themselves.

[Chris @ Feb 25th 2006 11:58PM]

"so it is likely to be at least on par with the 360 for media functionality if not more."

AAAAHHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA!

That's rich.

But seriously, you must be kidding. You obviously havent used the x360 very much. The x360 as a Media Center Extender is simply amazing.

[Venator2000 @ Feb 26th 2006 12:11AM]

The only reason the Japanese developers are whining for more disc space is so that they can put longer damn movies in their games. That's right, Square/Enix, I'm talking to YOU!

[goofball2314 @ Feb 26th 2006 1:45AM]

yes, so amazing that it cant play divx on its own and requires a power-hungry computer to be running as the backbone of the whole system. WTG.

[RawNerve @ Feb 26th 2006 2:09AM]

Oh My GOD! So many fanboys. Xbox, PS, PC...

For reference: I own a PC equipped with a GF 7800, a PS2 and an XBOX360. Before I state my opinion, I want to reply to somone who said you could run LINUX on XBOX. Yes, maybe you can. But you can on PS2 too. Here you go:
http://playstation2-linux.com/

Now, my opinion: SEGA DREAMCAST was released in 1998 in JAPAN and 1999 in USA, and i think EUROPE. At that time PS2 was nowhere, it was released in 2000 in JAPAN. But still, the PS2 owned the DC so hard that SEGA stopped with it, and almost died. And you can't say that the DC was a crappy console - imho it was just as good as PS2. But, the main thing about the consoles are, the GAMES. And let's face it. SONY has the best games in their hands. Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, Motorstorm, Metal Gear Solid, SOCOM, and the list goes on... that is why, even when the XBOX came out, PS2 was and IS the king.XBOX is nowhere compared to PS2.

The PS3 coming this fall, I think, pretty reasonable. Almost same situation as with DC, just back then it took 2 years for SONY to react, now it takes only 1. PS3 definately going to have same OR better media center/online functions. You guys keep forgetting that PSP's main point (other than games) are the multimediaical functions! They won't be left off from PS3 for sure.....

Yeah, well, XBOX360 is pretty good, but nothing that alot of people excepted. Loud, lots of bugs, graphics are not really breathetaking...

I must add - Nowadays, I STILL play more on PS2 than on XBOX360.

[Tommy Mang @ Feb 26th 2006 4:52AM]

It's clearly now that Sony is slowly preparing the sony community for a huge delay of the PS3-launch, worldwide...

I predict a Winter 2006 launch in Japan, a Spring 2007 launch in de US, and an Autumn 2007 launch in Europe...

[Kamalot @ Feb 26th 2006 6:22AM]

It is a stalling tactic.

Sony has been saying all the way up through last week that the PS3 would launch in Spring, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

Sony's only goal is to keep you from buying an Xbox 360. Sony knows it won't launch till the holidays, but it sure can lead you on. Even when it does launch, quantities will be limited, which will drive up demand even more. After the new year, more PS3s will magically show up so there are enough for all.

This is the exact same tactic Sony used against the Sega Dreamcast. Sony's no fool. The PS3 does not have to be better than the Xbox 360, it just needs to SEEM better. The longer Sony holds out on showing real information, the more powerful the illusion is.

If Sony were to show game footage or stills, they would look just like Xbox 360 shots. People would have no reason to hold out for the PS3 and would pick up a 360 today instead of waiting.

If you can't compare the two systems' game footage, you have to use your imagination, which is more powerful than any screen short or trailer.

So, Sony's mystery covers the truth about their console and entices people to wait a 'short while'. Their lies about launching in Spring keep stretch the 'short while' people are willing to wait from now until November.

Sony's classic hype machine at work, with plenty of sheep to make it run.

[hussein rawat @ Feb 26th 2006 8:05AM]

Here is my piece... Up until now i.e. the current generation of consoles, the issue has been just about the games. When the Xbox was released it changed the way people socialised. By that I mean the LIVE experience. The next generation of consoles 360,PS3 and Revolution have to provide a huge gaming experience. In my experience, the only multiplayer gaming i have is through Xbox Live. That has changed my gaming experience so much. Hours have passed by in the blink of an eye. Additionally the foundations have been laid down with regards to Microsofts help. And personally I feel that the reason Microsoft have released the 360 so early is to garner a user base that will be big by the time either Sony/Nintendo come on to the market with their consoles. The issue about Blue-Ray and the like. I will rather buy a dedicated DVD Player that is focused on giving the best A/V experience. None of this compromise which I feel the console manufacturer(s) are offering. The PS2 is a very mediocre machine when it comes to playing DVD's. And I can't conceive Sony releasing the machine at a price where the majority of consumers will be able to afford it from the get-go. I do suppose that if there is one reason (which is one of many) that Sony are not hastily releasing the PS3 is because they do not want a backlash from the consumer if the product starts to fail i.e. hardware failure. Look at the backlash from the gaming public when the 360 started to overheat. Sony do not want that so they will keep the public waiting. But ultimately, and this only is my thought.. I will buy the 360 only because of the Live experience as that is the only thing that keeps me going back to my Xbox. Other than that there is not much i can add to that within context of the subject.

[justagamer @ Feb 26th 2006 8:13AM]

"Sony's classic hype machine at work, with plenty of sheep to make it run."

Want to talk about hitting the nail on the head!?

By the way, for everyone who is expecting the PS3 to blow the 360 out of the water, check out this article: http://games.kikizo.com/news/200602/065_p1.asp

Also, keep in mind that there was a guy fired from Sony earlier this year because he posted comments that the 360 was a better design than the PS3 and Sony was screwing up with developers.

No doubt, the PS3 will eventually come out and it will be an awsome machine. I just think that everyone who says that the 360 is crap needs to pay attention to the world around them. Step out of the hype and realize that credit is given where it's due, the PS3 has amazing potential, it's just not the "generation ahead" that was promised. Then again, if they continue to wait, maybe they can incorporate the holographic discs (http://www.optware.co.jp/english/what_040823.htm) and really show the world how it's done!

[jon @ Feb 26th 2006 11:28AM]

In Sony's Stumble, the Ghost of Betamax:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/business/26disks.html

[Jon @ Feb 26th 2006 11:36AM]

To a comment about the 360 having problems overheating...don't you get that that was all BS...there was like 1 guy who's Xbox overheated and every blog on the internet turned his one story into an epedemic...think about it...There are more that 1.5 million Xbox 360's out there from the first batch of consoles made...have you heard anything recently about 360's overheating??? Why not??? It's because this was never really an issue...just post-launch hype about an isolated issue.

The industry has had 5 years now to experience that MS makes good quality hardware. The original Xbox is not known for widespread Hardware failures and neither is the 360. Don't believe the hype!

[BlastYoBoots @ Feb 26th 2006 11:57AM]

Holographic IS the way to go you know, these HD-DVD vs BLU-RAY battles are completely pointless.

But, by the way, do you all not see just how much NEGATIVE 'hype' Sony is getting? This delay is by no means intentional. Both their disk drive AND their processor are COMPLETELY NEW, some not even finished yet. It isn't like Microsoft which can just say 'OK guys, make a bigass video card for the 360'. This is NEW technology.

Second of all, why the HECK does everyone go on and all about X-Box Live? "Hey, Bill! Lets put CHATTING and ONLINE MULTIPLAYER together, but instead of making it free like SOCOM or that new Revo Super Smash Bros, we'll make them PAY PER MONTH! Then we'll tell all our developers to add this into their games, and those suckers will think that M$ invented online console games! It's brilliant!"
"Sounds great, how about making it $50 a year? By the time we make the X360, it will be as if they bought a second Xbox!"
"Yeah! And we'll add an online store, so they can give us their money without leaving their console!!!"

XBOX Live is the sickest attempt at defrauding the customer I've seen from M$... Oh wait, they've done worse. But, come on, taking away online multiplayer, then selling it back to us? Perhaps Live is a bit easy to program for, but wouldn't YOU be mad if you suddenly had to pay monthly to go online with all your computer games?

It makes me sad to see that Sony is planning to adopt this too. Go Nintendo Revolution!

[justagamer @ Feb 26th 2006 12:58PM]

#40,you must not play any MMORGPs.

I,for one, do agree that it sucks to have to buy a game for $50 / $60 then turn around and pay to play it online as well. I would NEVER buy WoW, DAOC, EQII... anything on that level because I'm not going to buy a game and then be forced to pay $14 - $20 per month to play each different game!

The allure of Live is that you only pay in 1 place, 1 time (until the dang MMORPGs start rolling out) There are some games on PS2 that you can connect and play for free, true. How many times do you connect to a game that has some kid flying around on his dial-up connection, lag-killing everyone? I've never played a PS2 online, but, I'm told by friends who own them that it sucks. There are others where you do have to pay a fee to connect (again, speaking from word of mouth). Live is a more controlled enviornment. I like one login for all of my games. I like being able to go on xbox.com and seeing what my friends are up to if I want to join in with them. I've not used a better online gaming service and considering all of the awards that Xbox Live has won, not too many other people have either.

I know that Live is not the begining of console gaming. I remember the SegaChannel (which I never got) back on the Genesis..I've been playing consoles online since the Dreamcast and I've been a PC gamer for quite a while as well. In all, I think that Xbox Live is the best set-up for online games.

As far as the downloadable content goes, if you don't wany to buy it, don't. I've bought 1 thing since launch day and that was the full version of Geometry Wars. I will be getting Street Fighter when that's released later this year, but, it's my choice! You don't have to pay for anything that you don't want. It's nice to be able to download demos, movie trailers, etc. etc. if I feel like doing it though. Choices are good....

Sony is adopting this because the community went nuts when they said that they wouldn't do it. That's giving MS ammo if they don't even honor the fact that it's an awesome service. Live was not the begining of online console gaming, but, it was a milestone and now the bar is set for others to match, beat, or fall under. If anyone releases a console in the future that does not have some form of unified online connectivity, it will fail.

[BlastYoBoots @ Feb 26th 2006 1:36PM]

Point taken, however (in my opinion) they should keep the multiplayer itself free, and maybe have extra features that you CAN pay for (just look at GameRanger for Mac: you can play tons of games on it free, though 'premium' members get a separate lobby, in-game voice chat, a larger banner/icon). I never buy any of those pay-per-month games, and though Live is a big step down from 'payments for every game', they are also making you pay for games that, by themselves, you wouldn't think of paying per-month for. (Imagine that all you had for xbox was Halo 2, and that it required you to pay $50 a year to play online. Would you do it? Heck no. And yet, some people pay $50 for Live when they really do have JUST Halo 2.) I can understand MMO's having pay per month, but not shooters like Halo. That's one of the reasons I hate M$ (apart from me being a Mac user): I don't want to pay for something that should be free.

[Jason @ Feb 26th 2006 2:13PM]

The 360 had to be rushed... and the PS3 should be too! PC games get better and better every day!!! How in the world is Sony going to get people to buy something like the PS3 if PC games already look better before it is released? 4-5 years may seem like a long time but that is a tiny window for a console to be available and going strong...

The 360 isn't totally "next gen" it just looks better than pretty much anything out there right now but if they would have waited too long too many things in the industry would have changed. ATI developed a custom graphics chip for the 360 and not even 6 months after the 360 is released there will be a card for the PC that is atleast equal if not better... when you spec out a platform and plan on it being superior at a certain time/generation you better get it out when you planned on or the tech will just be too old when you release it.

Sony isn't going to change the video specs of the PS3 becuase it got delayed for 6 months or a year... if you ask me that is too far for them to fall behind. By the time the PS3 is available to purchase it will only be offering equal if not worse graphics than the PC and some 360 games that have had a lot of time to utilitize the power of the system.

It all goes to show the most important thing to Sony with the PS3... it is just to get the Blu-Ray drive into a large install base... they don't care about the tech of the gaming part of the system... you wouldn't plan the entire system around something that really has nothing to do with the games...

If Blu-Ray is the reason why the PS3 is delayed than Sony probably will and should lose a lot of creed with the true gamers out there... if the entire system suffers because Sony wants their next gen movie disc to win the format war than that is just a shame.

[fogd00d @ Feb 26th 2006 2:23PM]

The most entertaining part is watching all these moms-basement 360 critics and Sony fanboys rapidly change their tune as the "not until fall" news becomes more official.

Here's a tip kids: If you really think you know the market THAT well, and are qualified to say something about all the competing consoles in the market, put your meagre allowance where your mouth is and start a blog.

But remember, if you spend all your time whining about what you *think* and *want* to happen, nobody's going to read you.

[xerxes_benario @ Feb 26th 2006 3:08PM]

i think there is a lesson for m$ to learn here ...

dont release something if you know it wont work!

take a hint from Sony m$!

[o rly @ Feb 26th 2006 4:45PM]

lol. waiting 1 year just to play a ps3? It comes out and Xbox360 is already on its 2nd generation, maybe even 3rd gen games.
Why not have your fun now with an Xbox 360 instead of waiting & twiddling your thumbs waiting for a system that will 100% disappoint you (because it's being overhyped by the same fanboys.)

...I'd say the same thing if the situation was reversed, in terms of Xbox 360 being delayed & the PS3 being out first.

[Thill @ Feb 26th 2006 9:21PM]

I WAS going to wait for the PS3 but got lucky and picked up the last premium 360 at Best Buy a few weeks ago.. Each day that passes, I am so happy that I bought the 360. This system, when hooked to me 56" DLP Samsung HD set, is AMAZING!

As for the delays, this is not planned.. You know that Sony's management is getting more and more red in the face each day that passes. If the PS3 is actually rolled out in North America in 06 (it is starting to look like 07 to many people) the 360 will have a commanding 10-12 million console lead on it. The 360 will be on its 2 and 3rd generation games, and will have tons of titles available.

I keep reading from Sony fanboys about how Microsoft screwed up the 360 launch because not enough systems were available.

Duh. It is called supply and demand, and the PS3 will have the same issues (remember the PS2 release?) There will never be enough consoles available for the first 3-6 months after launch if the console is as popular as the 360.

This delay could actually play into MS's hands.. By the time this holiday season picks up, they will have a ton of 360 stock and if the PS3 is available for the holidays, and people cannoy get their hands on one, they will turn to the 360..

The Blu-ray argument from you fanboys is ignorant too. PS3 developers have already stated that games will be released in DVD format for almost the first year. If Sony losses the Blu-ray/HD-DVD battle (and Sony has lost quite a few media format battles lately) then the PS3 will be useless for HD playing movies..

Have fun waiting.. While you play your PS2 games in standard(low) definition, I will be playing in games in high-def (not to mention 56")... Suckers...

[john @ Feb 26th 2006 11:43PM]

I purchased all current gen systems and have rarley played any ps2 games its just a dust collector with its long as hell load times and craptacular graphics I dont have much use for it and dont get me started on memory cards they suck and then theres multitap to play 4 players another added expence how about sonys launch title a fireworks simulator remember that garbage I am never going to buy anything from sony ever again I wont be wasting my money on a ps3

[Tim Dillon @ Feb 26th 2006 11:55PM]

I bought X Box360. Finally I made a correct choice.
With at least a year entertainment, before I have to make the next major investment, but will the chocolate Playstation 3 be out for Christmas?

[Jon @ Feb 27th 2006 9:28AM]

I will buy the PS3, just like I brought the 360 and will buy the Revolution. I am a gamer who holds no loyalty to any one company. Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses. Those who choose to go with one or another, well, that is your choice. I refuse to miss out on anything.

[BLEACH @ Feb 27th 2006 10:56AM]

WOW, SO MANY XBOX FANBOYS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. YOU'D ALMOST THINK THEY WERE EXCITED ABOUT THE PS3.

[steve-o @ Feb 27th 2006 1:27PM]

Given a choice, I would get both X360 and PS3. But I doubt my wife will allow me to spend $1000 to purchase both systems. Yes, X360 may have a better line up of games this time and yes, there may not be much difference in the games when the two consoles are compared. But once the developers take full advantage of PS3's potentials all of current X360 owners will go out and buy PS3, which by then will look like a generation ahead of X360.

The only drawback is that it may be 2-3 years before that happens.

M$ has every reason to keep the mainstream computing to a CISC based system. IBM on the other hand promotes Linux which can run in RISC based systems.

Mark my words. PS3 will be the first widely adopted Linux system the world will ever see. With this level of adoption rate of Linux system, IBM will become M$'s biggest threat, NOT a small player like Apple. Apple should just stay in peripherals business and drop PC business altogether.

Remember what Kutaragi-san said. PS3 is not just a gaming console. It's an "entertainment supercomputer"...